UPDATED: 5 July 2018
www.blockchainbullion.io
At the time of writing, and after a quick Google search for ‘Troy James Hogg’ you are most certain to come across a website and a few social forums who are out to slander and make claims against Troy online. I did exactly this, back in early 2018, when his name popped up on our radar.
Obviously the online stories and F.U.D. (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) did make us feel slightly uneasy, as does any negative news or information that is linked to an investment you believe in. In all honesty, based on the online drama surrounding him, Troy James Hogg was written down as one of my personal red flags when choosing to invest in Unity Ingot, now known as Dignity (Ticker DIG).
However, I do also understand that the Internet can amplify lies and exaggerate or bend reality, and so should you. You do have to wonder who in their right mind would set out to create a website dedicated to slandering a single person. It is the first type of website of its kind that I have come across, and quite frankly it does create alarm bells – and not in the way you would expect; IF what they are saying is the truth, then why on earth is it not dealt with privately, professionally and with a legal team? Nowadays, a court case would settle the issues without the need to try and create hatred and negativity towards a person online. After all, the court room would not perceive this to be a smart move, and it could even be detrimental for those who are involved in creating such a website.
Now, regardless of the online rumours, up until Arbitrade’s first press conference on the 28th June 2018, we hadn’t heard anything from Troy James Hogg and his involvement with Arbitrade, only gossip about him. Yet, I was very aware that there are analysts who follow and discuss Dignity ($DIG) on Twitter, and whom have also personally met Troy James Hogg. Therefore, it was only right that I asked one of those reputable contacts what they know about this mystery man.
You can read the full write-up by Xylo, an active member of the community, who discusses his views on Troy James Hogg here: Xylo responds to questions concerning UNY/DIG involvement with Troy Hogg.
Still, throughout the rest of this article, I will refer to both Xylo’s write-up, as well as the comments made online, as I take the key pieces of ‘shrilled’ comments people are worrying about online about Troy James Hogg, and provide you with a balanced view with all that I know from the online sources and members of the Blockchain Bullion network.
Troy James Hogg F.U.D. Number 1: Why Has Troy Changed His Names So Often, “Creating Multiple Email Addresses, Social Media Profiles, Trading Entities Etc To Match Over The Last TEN YEARS?”
Source: troyjamesexposed.com
“Troy has never changed his name. ‘Hogg’ ‘Richard’ and ‘James’ are part of his REAL NAME. Your claims of him changing his name are just not true.” – cryptobolix
“Many of you have been asking about Troy James, Troy Hogg, Troy Richard James, etc. no he’s not changing his name like many claim, this is simply who he is. Troy Richard James Hogg.” – Xylo
As we can clearly see, the ‘haters’ are trying to twist the truth and make out that Troy has used many names as a form of disguise against ‘all the scams he has been involved in.’ Personally, I have several versions of my name that I can, and do, go by. This is by no means a way for me to create different personas and pretend to be different aliases. Yet, if people wanted to, of course they can blame me for trying to hide from something?! Making a mountain out of a molehill online is too easy nowadays, and this is at the epicentre of F.U.D.
Troy James Hogg F.U.D. Number 2: “Troy James Has Taken Money, And Not Delivered Or Launched The Promised Product”
Source: troyjamesexposed.com
“Troy’s only “downfall” was that he had over-extended himself on too many projects at a single time, which led to the delay of many projects getting off the ground or completed. In his pursuit to help people reach a stable online income, he realized he was spread thin and offered to all his customers full refunds for any products they may have pre-purchased and/or partnered with him on.” – Xylo
To summarise the comments from Xylo’s write-up, I have outlined the key points below:
A few customers became frustrated with project timescales and lost faith in Troy.
Those said people decided to pursue their refunds;
“…refunds that they had initially declined and had no legal right to obtain at this point.” – Xylo
One person in the group has personal issues with Troy and started convincing more people to apply for late refunds;
“Keep in mind, they all turned the refunds down that Troy already offered and were well past the 180 days PayPal allows.”– Xylo
The refund group that was formed, soon turned into a hate group creating a witch-hunt against Troy;
“Most of them disputed the charges through PayPal almost in unison totalling to what I believe was over $500,000. It may actually be more, maybe less. Those that had payments within 180 days were refunded automatically by PayPal. A vast majority of the transactions were past the 180 days, so they received no money from PayPal, this was about half of this refund group.” – Xylo
Without any legal obligation, Troy began working on refunding every individual;
“Though Troy failed to execute the business ventures due to over-extension and because of the mass refunds, the refunders forfeited their rights to refund, and he STILL paid them all back. Scammers just don’t do that, and he never stopped…He has since paid back every person, including the man who demanded 4+ years of refunds totaling over $120,000 plus interest.” – Xylo
Troy James Hogg F.U.D. Number 3: “The Affluence Network – It’s A Pyramid Scheme!”
Source: troyjamesexposed.com
Again I will bullet point the main points from Xylo’s write-up which will show you the truth behind these accusations;
Troy started to build ‘The Affluence Network’ (TAN) which was intended to be the first Internet Marketing platform to fully incorporate cryptocurrency.
During the development stage, a few big influencers discovered his idea which created a domino affect;
“Big people know big people, and word begin to spread at high levels that Troy was executing a revolutionary idea. Troy decided that TAN would need to be placed on hold so he could focus on the cryptocurrency side of things with the new “big” people. Thus TAN never fully launched, yet. Many claim TAN was a scam, or a ponzi, which it wasn’t. It simply was put on hold. It never happened.” – Xylo
“The Affluence Network TAN coins have never launched, neither has TAN launched anything. It’s been nothing but pre-signups. Nobody has been scammed by the TAN coins. You can’t even trade them or buy them anywhere.” – cryptobolix
Troy James Hogg F.U.D. Number 4: Troy’s Involvement In Arbitrade And Crypobontix Will Discredit It From Becoming Successful
A news article was released earlier this morning (5th July 2018) raising concerns about the silence from both Arbitrade and the Bermudan government, following comments made at the first press conference last week. The comments that stood out the most, which are related to Troy Hogg’s involvement with the Arbitrade project are as follows:
“The press comments by Arbitrade raise more red flags than a hurricane on the South Shore.” – M. Dunkley
“If we wish to pursue a legitimate crypto business we need to acknowledge that there are a lot of scam crypto businesses operating and be extra vigilant to weed out these con artists. One misstep this early in the process of properly regulating this business could destroy all of the hard work that has been done so far and damage Bermuda’s reputation. Any of these businesses with even a hint of impropriety should be avoided (and that would include any business with Troy Hogg involvement). We have only one chance to get this right and there are a lot vultures (external as well as local) out there hoping we don’t.” – Robert. X
However, there are always two sides to a speculative debate! It is important that you don’t ever get confirmation bias where-by you only listen to what you want to hear and ignore anything that doesn’t fit your point of view. For this reason, take the time to understand the following comments too:
“The past MLMs, to also include The Affluence Network, have nothing to do with Cryptobontix or Arbitrade. Just because Troy had former business ventures that may or may not have gone as planned does not mean they have any bearing on what happens with this venture. The success and validity of this venture is not determined by Troy’s past projects. Even if Troy did scam people in the past, it has no connection or affect on what is occurring with the cryptocurrency things.” – cryptobolix
“Here’s how we get to Cryptobontix. Troy had now paid back all those who came after him. He knew of the slander and the libel and the exaggerated claims these people assaulted him with. He knew that if Cryptobontix was to succeed, he’d have to resign. If he stayed, then he’d be risking the success of the tokens because of the misinformation on the web about him. Remember this is primarily one website.
If this guy was truly as bad as this one website makes him out to be, with 76000+ customers there would be thousands of hate sites and links.
Troy decided he would first need to do what was best for the new company. He stepped down. He literally stepped down and gave control of his genius idea and inspirations to the newly organized Board of Directors.
He only acts now as a consultant in order to help the completion and launch of the assets. Once this happens I am told he resigns forever. He may never get the credit he deserves. Not only did Troy pay back all the money he wasn’t required to pay, he did it at his own expense. He now sacrificed his pride, his ego, the recognition, the clout…. of being the great mind behind all of this. The mastermind took a back seat in order for the company and its followers to succeed. This act of humility, surrendering it all, was a huge sacrifice. But he did it.
I can personally vouch for Troy’s integrity. I watched him face adversity, pay back his debtors (who had no legal right), make hundreds of people a lot of money, and still be able to launch this crypto project off the ground. He’s the reason any of us involved have this opportunity before us to be financially free. He has changed dozens and dozens of people’s lives, and with the groundbreaking inspirations he’s brought the world of cryptocurrency, Troy Richard James Hogg deserves all the accolades and honor. Without his dedication to do what was right and overcome stark adversity, this growing community of Cryptobontix and Arbitrade patrons would not exist.” – Xylo
Now, to back up what Xylo has said, here is an extract from the official Arbitrade news release that was circulated today (5th July 2018):
“Troy Hogg – Troy was the visionary and original designer of everything Arbitrade. From the all-in-one merchant banking platform to the bullion-backed tokens to Arbipay and the mining structure, it was his design that has been behind what we have been aggressively building for the future. Troy has overseen the development, acquisitions, government negotiations, bullion partnership and is involved with all significant growth decisions of the overall business. His contract is based on seeing the development and growth of Arbitrade until the ICO ends and the platform officially launches. Troy made a deal with equity partners, the board and development teams that he would be compensated for his vision and efforts upon his resigning from Arbitrade to pursue improving his health and other endeavors. Troy had temporarily left the company prior, but the board and management found that he was an invaluable negotiator and could convey the vision the best, so he was asked to return as a consultant.” – Arbitrade
Troy Acknowledges The FUD In His First Public Speech On Behalf Of Arbitrade
During the live press conference call on the 28th June 2018, Troy begins by acknowledging the online rumours that have been slandering his name, as well as the website that was created about him:
He mentioned that he was caught up in an online battle with a group of individuals who he had previously criticised publicly online for their wrong-doings.
He doesn’t have the time to focus on it and defend himself against these people.
He will be publishing his own website and blog listing the full list of occurrences of everything that happened with the help of his attorneys, publicists, and agents who are assisting him.
He will also be proceeding with legal actions against the individuals who continue to slander his name
However, Michael Dunkley, the former Premier, who is now Shadow Minister for National Security, didn’t take these comments lightly and responded with:
“Mr Hogg began his portion of last Thursday’s conference call by defending himself against social media and online attacks. Mr Dunkley felt that making such opening remarks was “a red flag”, he also took issue with the conference call ending with no questions being allowed.” – Scott Neil
Final Words
To put it simply, the main issue that people are afraid of, is that Arbitrade’s project is a well-executed scam. Unfortunately, I have come to realise that it is easy to understand that people will assume the worst when there is a lack of consistent and concrete information and news releases.
However, I hope that both the public speech at the press conference, and this article has helped to clear up some of the main issues as to why the F.U.D.sters believe Troy Hogg’s involvement with Arbitrade’s project could make it a scam. I also hope that you will begin to have a bit more faith when looking at the wider picture of the project, not just the short term lack of information and the noise!
Finally, we now know that Troy is the visionary of the Arbitrade project, and that he had successfully appointed Leonard Schutzmann to head up the company as CEO, and setup a world class team who is responsible for the international growth of Arbitrade.
Regardless of the lack of communication and released information we have had thus far, I personally still have the utmost faith in this project. Besides, the team around Arbitrade are making sure they have everything legally setup properly and with all proper contracts and systems in place before making this information available to the public.
To be frank, who are we, as small investors in the grand scheme of things, to be nagging at and pestering the team, when they are working immensely hard behind the scenes to make Troy’s vision a reality?
At the end of the day, you have to look at how revolutionary the project is, and how it will fundamentally develop the financial systems of the world. You must learn to have faith and patience, rather than simply staring at the daily values of Dignity ($DIG) and listening to the F.U.D. and rumours online. Make sure you read and understand the white-papers, as well as the team behind the project, before choosing to invest.
On that note, for all you fans and believers of the project, like the team and community behind Blockchain Bullion, you can:
Purchase more Dignity ($DIG) tokens while the price is low
Keep up-to-date with the latest updates about the project – remember to check-in frequently with the timeline!
Troy’s official website to follow in the future.